You Have To Be Pretty Messed Up And Bigoted To Purposely Eat At Chick Fil A

With the emphasis on the word "purposely".

I like the red herring that the right is coming up with. That folks are eating there to strike a blow for free speech. Those who are going out of their way to eat there aren't eating there because they are twenty first century Voltaires. They are eating there because they are twenty first century Fred Phelps.

7. Huckabee, too? Old idiot. I thought this was Beck, Fischer, Rush inspired. Is there any difference?

And it's a diversion to keep the heat off Romney, you bet. They know that Democrats support equality and they had to poke a stick in our eyes.

Besides, all their troglodyte thumb suckers had to have a special day, like Beck's failed rally in D.C. I'll refrain from the language I'd prefer.

Someone did make an analogy between this the Nazis ginning up hatred for Jews as they took over on a thread today. It's been Democrats, liberals, progressives (saw Beck going nuts over that now progressive is the new devil), illegals, women & gays, the sick, poor, blacks, on and on. Wake up and smell it:

53. This is beginning to feel like Germany, pre-WWII. Next will be a

charismatic politician promising lots of jobs for the masses, get the deviants, think of the children, all the typical BS, and an ever increasing bonding between government and corporate America, and the MIC. Then, going after more of 'them,' over there, and 'them' here, and ever increasing manifest destiny. It's all a dangerous brew I feel fermenting.

11. What if they gave money to a group who wanted to imprison you?

15. Whatever.

Nobody is going to prison. You see, I live in the real world where 2 million piddly little donated dollars which will largely go to the organization's payroll isn't going to affect anyone. Chick-fil-a can donate however much it wants to, but it isn't going to impact anyone in any appreciable way. Gay rights are moving along so fast and with so much support that focus on the family or whatever their name is isn't going to be doing anything but shoving their money in a rat hole. I'll keep buying my lunch and rolling my eyes. Boycotting chick-fil-a isn't preventing the opening of Auschwitz.

39. Please

Political action through lobbying is nothing new. We've seen large advances in both the social and political worlds involving the rights of homosexuals. That is how change takes place. There are groups that fight it, yes, but I'd like to think effort is necessary on all fronts and not merely where one buys their chicken nuggets. Just because you eat a Chick-Fil-A doesn't mean you're a homophobe who wants a Dachau for homosexuals to open down the block. I didn't go there yesterday not out of protest but because there is none near my work. Me not going does nothing.

You remember Prop 8 in California? You know why it passed? Not because of Chick-Fil-A, but because its supporters didn't do enough actual work to make sure it didn't. Rolling Stone, hardly a conservative rag, even did a story laying the blame squarely on the overconfident masses who just assumed everyone would vote against it and didn't do enough political legwork to counter it.

Like it or not, in politics, you gotta take what you want.

I can promise you legislation will get passed because of what goes on in the voting booth rather than the counter of a fast food restaurant.

36. While This Is True

As Dr. King said, time is neutral, we cause change through our actions within the passage of time and nor merely because of it.

Having said that, I think the best way to effect change is through political action. Canvasing. Voting.

Not eating Chick-Fil-A? My heads shakes to and fro at those who somehow think it's a Christian act to eat at a fast food restaurant as well as people who insist that eating at said restaurant is a hate crime.

I'm just not a fan of flashy political action to take the place of hard, concentrated effort from which change really occurs.

42. Not to take the place of, to serve as a facet of concentrated efforts to make change

Can you grasp the nuance? Can you canvass and chew gum at the same time, sport? We sure can.
The Fil A eaters are the ones doing the flashy crap, the rest of us are simply not eating the junk food. Not so flashy.

46. Alas, Nuance

I wish I saw more of that regarding the discussions of this business. The subtle notion that its employees may enjoy working there, and disagree with their company's owner's ideas. Or that perhaps they cannot quit because they don't have the funds to simply stop working. Maybe even that people go because they don't think boycotting an business because of the politics of its owners makes much sense. I know plenty of conservatives here in Arizona that eat Ben & Jerrys. They don't call each other "queer lovers," at least that I've heard.

Not everyone is being quite so unflashy. Adam Smith? Google him, and not the economist. I'm so embarrassed he teaches at my alma mater.

However, just as I find it bizarre to focus so much on a person's eating habits as somehow reflective of their politics, I thought the contrary view should be noted to emphasize its equal absurdity.

Frankly, I've known Cathy was a right-wing nut for a while. I'm just laughing that's it's suddenly NOW become a cause célèbre to avoid his establishments.

23. Exactly!

25. that silly 'freedom fries' shit..

..is what convinced me that republicans in the states had gone over the edge..& are nothing but a bunch of name calling children.

I could have overlooked it if it had just come out of some fringe groups at the time..

..but it was freakin' government officials & national news stations doing it too.

unreal.

& I had a real hate on at the time for americans when the blame started coming Canada's way for 'letting the terrorists through the border' crap that was being spewed..along with the attempts to damage various industries here..like the mad cow accusation thing that cost the Canadian beef industry billions shortly after the Iraq occupation started...& because our Prime Minister at the time didn't want to support Bush's invasion made me think it was retaliatory.

Bush Jr's wannabe cowboy behaviour didn't help my opinion either.

Sorry guys..I didn't know DU was around back then & there was still some sane people left!

35. The real news is found on DU WAY before national coverage.

50. No, we're cringing with you. There may be more sane ones down here than we realize.

I'd like to apologize on behalf of those Americans who are equally disgusted with the boorish behavior of those other Americans here.

I'll never understand most of this nation. From the crap they listen to, and watch, and say, and do. It's all filth. And by filth I mean low quality. I think it's to blame for the brain rot. That, and the lack of cardiovascular fitness from driving around instead of using their bodies. I'm serious.

12. So People Are Braving Block Long Lines To Eat At Chick Fil A ,Really

More than 630,000 supporters signed up to celebrate Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day today, which former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee created to counter a boycott launched by gay marriage activists last week after Cathy said he was "guilty as charged" for not supporting gay marriage.

13. sure, why not

I bet I could go to one of those lines and ask random people, and a major percentage would say "WTF is going on with this line today? I just wanted to get some chicken" and they wouldn't have a clue about the news story. But go ahead and pretend every one of them is some kind of raging homophobe, it seems to be popular lately. Broad-brushing, IMHO, is always pretty stupid.

21. Or they may eat there because they have to clog their arteries with

fatty foods.

I think it's going to be a big loss for the company. Most people that have those bigoted ideals are old. Old people don't eat at chik-fila they eat at Captain D's. I think Chik-fila lost a big chunk of their business.

22. Should I use coupons that I have?

I wasn't planning on going at all but I have a few coupons for free sandwiches and free breakfast items. Should I use the coupons to take food that they would otherwise get paid for and just continue boycott?

29. I rely on Dunning-Kruger to explain things, at times like these.....

''The Dunning Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to recognize their mistakes. The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their ability as above average, much higher than it actually is.....''

30. I'm sorry but I respectfully disagree.

Some people- yes- you are correct. More then some- quite a lot of people are like that. Ok.

But- there's another large segment of the population to consider here too .Many people- including many of my work colleagues whom I've attempted to discuss this issue with during the past few days-- are not what " messed up or bigoted"- not purposefully anyway. They're not hate filled or concerned about free speech. They just aren't interested- they get it
they do now after speaking with me that's for sure), - they even mostly agree that Cathy is wrong and don't agree with him- but they just don't believe this is all that important enough - doesn't affect them really- not directly and they just don't care. One said "what can I say- it's my kids' favorite place"; -- another said "if we stopped shopping or buying products made by all the companies with political views we don't agree with, we'd drive ourselves nuts and frankly- it's just not that important to me. Cheap prices and convenience matter most" And as a reminder, for the majority of the US population, marriage equality and LGBT issues are not exactly something they think about very often. It's sad I know- but it is how it is. Most people are just not engaged. The passion we have about these things is not how most of the rest of the country feels.

Furthermore, most women have absolutely no idea about the health care benefits that went into effect yesterday, sadly.

44. The OP said those who purposfully eat the crap as a statement

So not a word of what you said applies to what the OP said. Furthermore, the people lined up to eat that stuff to flip the fried bird to gay people also believe what the right told them happened yesterday, which is that religious freedom died because of those evil benefits for women. This is why fighting that ignorance rather than excusing it away is sort of important.

41. So you are saying you eat there

43. You do not have to be bigoted to purposely eat at a Chick-Fil-A

Now, maybe you think people's lack of caring is the issue but that's a different topic altogether. I know people who eat there sometimes who are certainly not bigoted.

That doesn't mean I have a problem with people boycotting them. And I think most of the folks who stood hours in line on "appreciation day" are provincial slobs who are probably homophobes, but you're not necessarily one just because you eat there. Ultimately, I would just encourage people to avoid fast food as much as possible.